The likely approval of the $26 billion merger of T-Mobile US and Sprint Corp. could force the telecom sector into a third stage of acquisitions. This time, mobile purchasing partners could be cable companies, according to CNBC.

Kison Patel, the CEO of software company DealRoom, remembers working for a private equity firm trying to do a deal not long ago. His firm bombarded the target company with requests for information — including repetitive requests for the same information, often in Excel spreadsheets. Eventually, the seller got fed up and walked away.

Large corporations are under attack from every corner. A group of states are fighting the proposed acquisition of Sprint Corp. by T-Mobile US. The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission are investigating tech giants including Facebook and Alphabet’s Google for antitrust violations. Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren is proposing breaking up the big tech companies.

JPMorgan & Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has called investors who use proxy advisors “lazy” for blindly following advice on matters like executive compensation or mergers. Now, he and other corporate executives may be getting some relief.

Companies are increasingly staying private for longer, raising ever larger amounts from private equity and venture capital. SoftBank Technology Corp.’s Vision Fund took the lead in an $8 billion backing of Uber in January 2018, a little more than a year before the company’s IPO, valuing the business at $48 billion.